Business Report: Airbnb in Hawaii

Absentee owners of Hawaii homes have been listing their properties on Airbnb. The neighbors hate it, so it's controversial. But how much of this is going on?

FiveThirtyEight is a subsidiary of ESPN that analyzes opinion polls and other data. The name comes from the number of votes in the Electoral College.

FiveThirtyEight just did some number crunching on rental platforms like Airbnb. It says Honolulu tops the nation in listings that are actually commercial: 21% of total listings.

Portland and Los Angeles are roughly tied for second at 15%. Seattle, New Orleans and Nashville come in next, around 12%.

This report, which Airbnb is already disputing, will carry some weight in Washington. Hawaii Senator Brian Schatz has already asked the FTC to investigate rental platforms. The concern is that the commercial renting of homes drives up all rental prices.